Feb 2009

New Zealand! The last leg of my trip. It has been an adventure so far, but Kiwiland has been one of my meccas since getting into backcountry hiking in Arizona a while back. The Great Walks here are stuff of legend and the extreme scene of bungi and skydiving was practically born here. The Maori people give a whole other dimension to the experience as their culture is widely celebrated here and many cities and streets have Maori names. Ok enough intro let's get to it!!

My first stop is in Auckland to visit my former AuPair Emily and her husband Kevin and baby Billy! It's crazy she was 18 when she was talking care of me in seventh grade. We have many awesome conversations about what it was like and what I was like and various observations on BoGo family life back in the day. It's great seeing her and her 1-year-old baby boy and Kevin gives me a taste of the Kiwi disposition: no worries mate

I then take a bus to Rotorua, central North Island, and find myself riding world-class mountain biking trails, specifically made for mountain bikes!!! No horses, no people, no animals; just dirt and tires. I spend the whole day on the mountain before my legs can hardly pedal anymore.

This is a jump that I almost completely wiped out on, but I made it!

It is mostly just me on all these trails so I had a bunch of time to fawn over the fauna!

What a view!!! I have to bike uphill for hours before I can bike all the downhill trails.

One of many not so glamorous but insanely thrilling jumps:

There are jumps on this mountain that are ridiculous world-class wearing a helmet and I am sponsored by eight bike companies so when I win a medal for doing this I get paid tons of money jumps...but I didn't go on them.

Luckily for my legs there are Polynesian Spas in Rotorua! The city is actually on top of a huge volcanic crater, which gives off a wonderfully eggy smell wherever you go. Sulfuric pools are around many corners, and the spas use the water in their pools of heavenly egg-smelling relaxation.

It's also my birthday and Obama's inauguration in Rotorua, so I go out and celebrate the old-fashion way with a few Canadian friends - toga party!! I actually had quite the toga on, but unfortunately it was ripped to shreds earlier on the dance floor, ha!

I also explore the really amazing Rotorua Museum there with lawn bowling on the outside and an amazing amount of Maori cultural items on the inside. It also has a very well done display on the huge volcanic eruption that leveled the town a hundred years ago. After a Maori ghost ship was seen on the lake by a group of old-school tourists, the local elder said it was a sign that their culture had been lost to the expanding tourism trade... and that people should be prepared for a catastrophe of epic proportions. Two days later, the volcano explodes and hot lava shoots miles into the air and decimates the town, the tourism trade, and the Eighth Wonder of the World: the Pink and White Terraces.

http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/photos/volcanic/terraces/

Lawn Bowls, so classy:

Historical Spas/Museum:

After rockin' Rotorua, I hitchhike to Wellington. Hitchhiking is surprisingly easy and an awesome experience here. I got two rides: one from a hippy mom with all her kids and another from a plain-spoken kiwi tour guide.

Once in Wellington I hit the bar scene and check out some mediocre music, but think my time is up when the party/thrill tour scene arrives and gets rowdy. I ask one of the participants who is looking glumly in her chair what's the deal with everybody taking their shirts and shoes off and dancing on tables to music videos on tv screens? She says it's been like that every night since they started the trip, eight days ago! I guess I am getting old, 'cause that is just not my idea of a vacation!!! hahaha.

From Wellington I get to take the ferry across the Tasman Strait to the South Island. Everyone I had met in New Zealand told me to do it, and I of course take their advice. On the map, you can see Wellington Harbor on the right and the strait in the middle; you can also see the line the ship takes through miles(kilometers) of inlets before it reaches the South Island:

One word: wow. The Ferry ride is breathtaking, windy, intense, and a really amazing experience that you've got to do if ever in New Zealand. Most people just stay inside the huge ship, but I face the elements for the four hour journey with a few other brave souls and some thrill-seeking youngsters.

My first look of the South Island:

And I arrive on the South Island...windswept and wowed, awed and amazed. I made it! I cover my nappy, salt-sprayed head and ready myself for some true adventuring.